Difference

Don't get me wrong. I am not proposing in-breeding and xenophobia. After all, Messi was first trained in Newell's Old Boys of Argentina and joined Barcelona at the age of 13.

Of course, there is no need to confine yourself to a single strategy. Many successful football clubs have their own training program but also recruit famous players from other clubs. Nonetheless, there is more than a fine line of difference between enlisting Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 18 (by Alex Ferguson !) and the same player six years later (by Florentino Pérez), or between enlisting Andriy Shevchenko at the age of 23 (by AC Milan) and at 30 (by Chelsea). In the jargon of Peter Lynch, a ten-bagger would gradually turn into a cash cow - and eventually to a cigarette butt.

Alas, there's nothing wrong with buying cigarette butts - as long as you are not paying the price of a cash cow.